The University of Gdansk 

INSTITUTE OF ENGLISH

SECOND-CYCLE (M.A.) STUDIES

LINGUISTICS

We would like to invite you most sincerely to choose the Linguistics option for your second-cycle (M.A.) studies at the Institute of English at the University of Gdansk. The studies last two years and lead to the obtaining of the degree of Master of Arts in English Philology.

The first year of studies will cover the following subjects:

1. Integrated course: during which you will be able to improve still further your knowledge of the English language;
2. Academic Writing: namely a course whose aim is to teach you how to write academic texts in the English language;
3. General linguistics, including theory of language: this course not only offers you the opportunity to further your knowledge of the main fields of linguistics but it also embraces the history of this field of science and selected theories of language;
4. Cognitive linguistics: this course will acquaint you with one of the most popular trends in linguistics in recent years;
5. Sociolinguistics: namely the area of linguistics dealing with the connections between language and society; during this course you will become more closely acquainted with, among other things, the language of men, the language of women, dialects (not only regional ones) and slang;
6. Ethnolinguistics: namely research into the connections between language and culture in its broadest sense, concentrating on such issues as the vocabulary of colours, time and space in various languages etc.;
7. Research methods: on this course you will learn about the fundamentals of gathering and analysing linguistic data (questionnaires, interviews, corpus research etc.).

The second year of studies will cover the following subjects:

1. Language in the media: on this course you will analyse the characteristic features of the language of the press, television, radio and the Internet;
2. Language in politics and advertising: this course will acquaint you with linguistic methods of persuasion (including metaphor);
3. Lexicography: namely the field of linguistics dealing with dictionaries; on this course you will find out about types of dictionaries, the principles governing the composition of entries and also the history of this branch of linguistics;
4. Psycholinguistics: research into the connections between linguistic behaviour and psychological and physiological phenomena, and language acquisition by children;
5. Applied linguistics: many fields, including teaching foreign languages, translation theory, research into linguistic correctness and the culture of language, speech therapy, research into linguistic policy;
6. Translation: practical activities in translating various texts from Polish into English and vice versa.

Throughout your studies you will also participate in Master’s seminars, during which your supervisor will advise you on your choice of a subject for your Master’s thesis and then on technical and material issues connected with the writing of the thesis. The seminar also serves to broaden your knowledge and to provoke reflection on the subject you have chosen and will, therefore, demand active participation in discussions and the preparation of a presentation.